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MAIN 


NEGIE  LIBRARY 
ITTSBURGH 


A  BIT  OF  HISTORY 
WITH  SOME  PICTURES 


CARNEGIE  LIBRARY  OF  PITTSBURGH 

1907 


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THE  CARNEGIE  LIBRARY 
OF  PITTSBURGH 


A  BIT  OF  HISTORY 
WITH  SOME  PICTURES 


CARNEGIE  LIBRARY  OF  PITTSBURGH 
1907 


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Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh 

The  Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh  is  under  the  control  of 
a  Board  of  Trustees,  eighteen  in  number,  one-half  of  whom  are 
the  personal  representatives  of  Mr.  Carnegie,  the  other  half 
being  the  official  representatives  of  the  City  of  Pittsburgh.  To 
this  Board  Mr.  Carnegie  gave,  in  1890,  one  million  dollars  for 
the  erection  of  a  central  building,  with  branch  library  buildings. 
From  time  to  time  he  has  added  to  that  sum.  The  Board  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  the  erection  of  the  original  central  building, 
which  was  completed  and  opened  to  the  public  November  5, 
1895.  Since  that  time,  branch  library  buildings  have  been 
erected,  and  now  six  of  them  are  in  full  operation.  These,  to- 
gether with  other  agencies,  such  as  schools,  deposit  stations,  call 
stations,  home  libraries,  reading  clubs  and  the  like,  make  a  total 
this  year  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  centers  of  activity  in  libra- 
ry work  established  within  and  maintained  by  th6  City  of  Pitts- 
burgh. 

The  story  of  this  first  gift  and  its  acceptance  is  here  told  in 
the  words  of  its  official  record. 

AN  ORDINANCE 

Providing    for    the    acceptance,    from    Andrew    Carnegie,    of    a    Free 
Library. 

Whereas,  Andrew  Carnegie  has  generously  offered  to  the  City  of 
Pittsburgh  a  gift  of  a  Free  Library,  as  set  forth  in  the  following  com- 
munication: 

Pittsburgh,  February  6th,  1890. 
To  the  Mayor  and  Councils  of  Pittsburgh: 

Gentlemen: — Some  years  ago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  offering  to  ex- 
pend upon  a  Free  Library  for  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars;  the  finances  of  the  city  were  not 
then  in  condition  to  permit  of  its  acceptance.  Having  expended  more 
than  that  sum  in  our  sister  city  of  Allegheny,  I  subsequently  intimated 
that  I  was  prepared  to  expend  not  less  than  half  a  million  for  Pittsburgh; 
such,  however,  has  been  the  recent  growth  of  the  city,  such  are  its  pros- 
pects for  the  future,  that  careful  consideration  has  led  me  to  the  con- 
clusion that  in  order  to  provide  such  Libraries  as  Pittsburgh  should 
have  will  require  even  a  larger  sum. 


H 


I  think  that  Pittsburgh  requires  a  Central  Building,  containing  a 
Reference  and  Circulating  Library,  also,  suitable  accommodations  for 
works  of  art,  which  I  believe  its  citizens  would  soon  provide;  that  there 
should  also  be  added  rooms  for  the  meetings  of  the  various  learned 
societies  of  the  city.  The  experience  of  New  York,  Baltimore,  and 
other  large  cities  has  proved  that  a  Central  Library  should  be  supple- 
mented by  branch  Libraries.  The  Free  Circulating  Library  of  New 
York  has  now  four  of  these;  the  city  of  Baltimore  has  five;  they  are  not 
extensive  structures,  but  each  contains  a  small  supply  of  the  books 
most  in  demand,  and  a  reading  room,  and  is  operated  in  connection  with 
the  Central  Library.  Such  branches,  I  think,  should  be  established  in 
the  various  districts  of  the  city,  probably  one  in  Birmingham,  another 
in  Temperanceville,  another  in  East  Liberty,  a  fourth  in  Lawrenceville, 
perhaps  a  fifth  in  the  older  part  of  the  city.  All  of  these  should  be 
thorpughly  fire-proof,  monumental  in  character  and  creditable  to  the 
city. 

To  provide  these  buildings  with  suitable  appliances  I  offer  to  ex- 
pend not  less  than  one  million  dollars.  I  propose  that  their  location, 
erection  and  management  shall  be  entrusted  to  a  Board  of  Trustees, 
composed,  ex-officio  of  the  Mayor,  the  Presidents  of  Select  and  Com- 
mon Councils,  the  President  of  the  Central  Board  of  Education,  and  a 
Library  Committee  of  five  appointed  by  the  Councils,  such  as  you  have 
done  me  the  honor  to  appoint  to  confer  with  me;  to  these  I  should  add 
the  names  of  twelve  well-known  citizens  of  Allegheny  County,  who 
should  have  power  as  a  body  to  provide  for  the  re-election  of  its  mem- 
bers at  stated  times,  and  also,  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  number. 

The  Libraries  to  be  formally  handed  over  to  the  city  upon  their 
completion,  free  from  lien,  in  trust,  for  the  purposes  specified. 

The  city  to  agree  to  receive  and  support  same  at  its  own  proper 
cost,  under  the  management  of  the  Trustees  as  above  provided. 

The  city  of  Baltimore  pays  $50,000  per  annum  for  the  support  of 
its  Public  Libraries,  established  by  Mr.  Enoch  Pratt,  who  gave  one 
million  of  dollars  for  the  purpose, .but  I  believe  that  $40,000  per  annum 
would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  those  of  Pittsburgh,  and  not  less  than 
this  sum  per  annum  I  require  the  City  of  Pittsburgh  to  agree  to  place 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Library  Trustees  to  be  expended  upon  them. 

I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  it  is  only  by  the  city  maintaining  its 
Public  Libraries  as  it  maintains  its  Public  Schools,  that  every  citizen 
can  be  made  to  feel  that  he  is  a  joint  proprietor  of  them,  and  that  the 
Public  Library  is  for  the  public  as  a  whole  and  not  for  any  portion  there- 
of; and  I  am  equally  clear  that  unless  a  community  is  willing  to  main- 
tain Public  Libraries  at  the  public  cost,  that  very  little  good  can  be  ob- 
tained from  them.  Not  to  save  me  further  expenditure  therefor,  but  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  city,  I  make  it  a  condition  that  they  shall  be 
properly  maintained  by  the  city. 

Very  respectfully, 

Andrew  Carnegie. 


Section  i.  Be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  City  of  Pittsburgh, 
in  Select  and  Common  Councils  assembled,  and  it  is  hereby  ordained 
and  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  generous  gift  of  a 
Free  Library  offered  by  Andrew  Carnegie,  to  the  City  of  Pittsburgh,  is 
hereby  accepted,  in  accordance  with  the  letter  of  said,  Andrew  Carnegie, 
dated  Pittsburgh,  February  6th,  1890,  and  which  letter  forms  part  of  the 
preamble  to  this  Ordinance,  and  the  officers  of  the  city  named  in  said 
letter  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  act  as  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  composing  the  commission  therein  named,  when  the 
same  shall  have  been  completed  by  the  appointment  of  the  twelve  mem- 
bers to  be  appointed  by  the  said  Andrew  Carnegie,  and  the  Library 
Committee  to  be  appointed  under  second  section  of  this  Ordinance. 

Sec.  2.  That  immediately  upon  the  passage  of  this  Ordinance  and 
at  the  first  meeting  in  April  of  this  year  and  at  the  organization  of 
Councils  every  second  year  thereafter,  the  Presidents  of  Councils  shall 
appoint  a  standing  committee  of  five  persons,  two  of  whom  shall  be 
members  of  Select  Council,  and  three  of  whom  shall  be  members  of 
Common  Council,  who  shall  be  known  as  the  Library  Committee,  who 
are  authorized  and  empowered  to  act  as  members  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees in  conjunction  with  the  other  officials  and  with  the  persons  named 
by  the  said  Andrew  Carnegie;  and  their  successors,  and  any  vacancies 
occurring  in  the  said  Board  of  Trustees  other  than  those  caused  by 
changes  of  the  public  officials,  shall  be  filled  by  a  majority  of  the  re- 
maining members  of  the  Board. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  Libraries  as  herein  provided  for,  shall  be  known 
and  designated  as  .the  Carnegie  Free  Libraries  of  the  City  of  Pittsburgh. 

Sec.  4.  That  any  Ordinance  or  part  of  Ordinance  conflicting  with 
the  provisions  of  this  Ordinance,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed,  so 
far  as  the  same  affects  this  Ordinance. 

Ordained  and  enacted  into  a  law  in  Councils,  this  24th  day  of  Febru- 
ary, A.  D.,1890. 

H.  P.  Ford, 

President  of  Select  Council. 
Attest:     Geo.  Sheppard, 

Clerk  of  Select  Council. 

G.  L.  HoUiday, 

President  of  Common  Council. 

Attest:     Geo.  Booth, 

Clerk  of  Common  Council. 

Mayor's  Office,  February  25th,  1890. 
Approved:     Wm.  McCallin, 

Mayor. 
Attest:     Rob't  Ostermaier,  -_ 

Assistant  Mayor's  Clerk. 

Recorded  in  Ordinance  Book,  Vol.  7,  page  265,  March  ist,  1890. 


Letter  No.  2 

Pittsburgh,  May  6th,  1890. 
John  S.  Lambie,  Esq.,  Chairman,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Dear  Sir: — Three  citizens,  members  of  the  Library  Commission, 
having  resigned,  nine  only  remain.  As  the  city  has  nine  official  repre- 
sentatives upon  the  commission,  equality  of  representation  will  be  se- 
cured by  leaving  unfilled  the  places  of  the  three  resigning  members,  and 
this  will  be  done.  As  the  successors  of  the  official  representatives  of 
the  city  are  created  without  participation  upon  the  part  of  the  citizen 
members,  equality  will  be  obtained  in  this  matter,  also,  by  providing 
that  the  citizen  members  should  themselves  elect  their  successors. 

Hoping  that  Councils  will  approve  this  view  and  pass  an  amended 
Ordinance  in  accordance  therewith,  and  thanking  yourself  and  col- 
leagues for  the  courtesy  shown  me  during  to-day's  conference,  I  am 
always, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Andrew  Carnegie. 

Section  i.  Be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  City  of  Pittsburgh,  in 
Select  and  Common  Councils  assembled,  and  it  is  hereby  ordained  and 
enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  generous  gift  of  the  Free 
Libraries  offered  by  Andrew  Carnegie  to  the  City  of  Pittsburgh  is  here- 
by accepted,  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  letters  of  said  Andrew 
Carnegie,  dated  Pittsburgh,  February  6th,  1890,  and  Pittsburgh,  May 
6th,  1890,  respectively,  which  letters  form  part  of  the  preamble  to  this 
Ordinance;  and  the  officers  of  the  city  named  in  said  letters  are  hereby 
authorized  and  empowered  to  act  as  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
composing  the  Commission  therein  named,  in  conjunction  with  the  nine 
persons  heretofore  appointed  by  the  said  Andrew  Carnegie,  and  the 
Library  Committee  appointed  under  the  second  section  of  this  Ordi- 
nance. 

Section  2.  That  immediately  upon  the  passage  of  this  Ordinance, 
and  at  the  organization  of  each  Council  hereafter,  the  Presidents  of 
Councils  shall  appoint  a  standing  committee  of  five  persons,  two  of 
whom  shall  be  members  of  Select  Council  and  three  of  whom  shall  be 
members  of  Common  Council,  who  shall  be  known  as  a  Library  Com- 
mittee, authorized  and  empowered  to  act  as  members  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  in  conjunction  with  the  other  officials  and  with  the  per?r/ns 
named  by  the  said  Andrew  Carnegie  and  their  successors;  and  any 
vacancies  occurring  in  said  Board  of  Trustees  other  than  those  caused 
by  changes  of  public  officials  shall  be  filled  by  the  majority  of  such 
remaining  members  of  the  Board  who  are  not  public  officials. 

Section  3.  That  the  Libraries  as  herein  provided  for  shall  be 
known  and  designated  as  the  Carnegie  Free  Libraries  of  the  City  of 
Pittsburgh. 


Section  4.  That  any  Ordinance  or  part  of  Ordinance  conflicting 
with  the  provisions  of  this  Ordinance  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  re- 
pealed, sofar  as  the  same  affects  this  Ordinance. 

Ordained  and  enacted  into  a  law  in  Councils,  this  26th  day  of  May, 
A.  D.,  1890. 

H.  P.  Ford, 

President  of  Select  Council. 

Attest:     Geo.  Booth, 

Clerk  of  Select  Council. 

G.  L.  Holliday, 

President  of  Common  Council. 

Attest:     E.  J.  Martin, 

Clerk  of  Common  Council. 

Mayor's  Office,  May  31st,  1890. 

Approved:     H.  I.  Gourley, 

Mayor. 

Attest:     Rob't  Ostermaier, 

Mayor's  Clerk. 

Recorded  in  Ordinance  Book,  Vol.  7,  page  422,  June  3d,  1890. 


Inasmuch  as  the  relations  existing  between  the  Carnegie 
Library  of  Pittsburgh  and  the  Carnegie  Institute  are  so  com- 
monly misunderstood,  it  is  desirable  that  a  brief  statement  of 
these  relations  should  be  made.  The  affairs  of  the  Carnegie 
Library  of  Pittsburgh  swiftly  assumed  greater  proportions 
after  the  completion  and  opening  of  the  original  Central  Li- 
brary building.  In  1896  Mr.  Carnegie  added  to  his  benefac- 
tions an  art  gallery  and  a  museum.  For  the  administration  of 
these  new  activities,  outside  the  strict  field  of  the  Library  but 
housed  within  its  building,  he  named  a  board  consisting  of 
eighteen  citizens  of  Pittsburgh,  and  added  to  this  number  all 
the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Carnegie  Library 
of  Pittsburgh,  ex  officio,  making  a  board  of  thirty-six  mem- 
bers, organized  under  the  name  of  The  Carnegie  Fine  Arts  and 
Museum  Collection  Fund,  with  an  annual  allowance  of  fifty 
thousands  of  dollars,  which  sum  was  greatly  increased  later. 
This  Board  was  given  possession  of  and  control  over  the  collec- 
tions in  the  fields  of  art  and  science  which  might  be  formed 
with  its  funds.  In  1898,  the  name  of  The  Carnegie  Fine  Arts 
and  Museum  Collection  Fund  was  changed  by  action  of  its 
Board  to  Carnegie  Institute.     Later,  Mr.  Carnegie  provided 

6 


additional  funds,  and  placed  them  in  the  care  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Carnegie  Institute,  for  the  erection  and  main- 
tenance of  the  Technical  Schools.  Therefore  the  Carnegie 
Institute  now  consists  of  three  departments, — the  Department 
of  Fine  Arts,  the  Museum,  and  the  Technical  Schools,  the  first 
two  of  these  departments  being  housed  in  the  central  building 
of  the  Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  third  having 
buildings  of  its  own. 

In  a  few  years  after  the  opening  of  the  Central  Library  build- 
ing the  fact  became  clear  that  it  was  outgrown,  whereupon  Mr. 
Carnegie  gave  the  Library  Board  the  sum  of  five  millions  of 
dollars  to  enlarge  this  central  building.  This  sum  has  now  been 
expended  by  the  building  committee  of  the  Library  Board,  and 
the  enlarged  building  is  to  be  formally  opened  to  the  public 
April  II,  12  and  13. 

The  Library  as  opened  in  1895  had  a  collection  of  about 
sixteen  thousand  volumes,  of  which  nine  thousand  were  cata- 
logued and  ready  for  use.  The  work  grew  swiftly,  and  now  at 
the  opening  of  the  enlarged  Central  Library  building,  the  Li- 
brary contains  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
volumes.  Its  circulation  has  reached  762,190  volumes  per 
annum,  and  the  total  number  of  books  and  magazines  circulated 
and  used  in  reading  rooms  is  1,463,207.  It  has  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  borrowers,  and  has  added  within  the  last 
year  forty-four  thousand,  six  hundred  and  five  volumes. 


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Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh 
Original  Board  of  Trustees 

First  Meeting,  March  I2,  1890 

JAMES  B.  SCOTT,  President 
W.  N.  FREW,  Secretary 
H.  C.  FRICK,  Treasurer 


K.  Q.  BINGHAM 
,R.  B.  CARNAHAN 
E.  M.  FERGUSON 
H.  P.  FORD 
W.J.HOLLAND 
G.  L.  HOLLIDAY 
J.  F.  HUDSON 
J.B.JACKSON 
A.  F.  KEATING 


J.  S.  LAMBIE 
REUBEN  MILLER 
GEORGE  A.  MACBETH 
WILLIAM  McCALLIN 
DAVID  McCARGO 
W.  H.  McKELVY 
ROBERT  PITCAIRN 
H.  K.  PORTER 
S.  H.  SHANNON 


Board  of  Trustees 

January  i,  1907 

W.  N.  FREW,  President 
ROBERT  PITCAIRN,  Vice-president 
J.  F.  HUDSON,  Secretary 
JAMES  H.  REED,  Treasurer 


WILLIAM  BRAND 
JOSEPH  BUFFINGTON 
D.  L.  GILLESPIE 
GEORGE  W.  GUTHRIE 
GEORGE  A.  MACBETH 
P.  A.  MANION 
A.W.MELLON 


WILLIAM  METCALF,  Jr. 
M.  E.  O'BRIEN 
H.  K.  PORTER 
CHARLES  L.  TAYLOR 
E.  R.  WALTERS 
J.  C.WASSON 
JOHN  WERNER 


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building  of  the  Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh,  April  nth,  12th  and  13th,  1907. 


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